G. V. Hurley’s is a Must-Try

I’ve been hearing all about G. V. Hurley’s ever since their grand opening at the end of March, but hadn’t yet been to experience it first hand until a few good friends and a highly-anticipated San Jose Sharks game drew me in. TwinSoup called the new midtown restaurant “a masculine bar & restaurant that feels warm and inviting,” so I knew I was in for a treat before even setting foot inside.

Let’s just say I could have devoured the entire bread plate alone, ordered nothing at all, and still raved about the place on SacFoodies the next day. From the first bite, I was sold. The bread plate included heavenly rolls and a modern variation on corn bread that was to die for.

For our main course, I chose the Grilled Hamburger Steak with smoked Gouda, chipotle, caramelized onions and house salad. Are you hungry yet? The dish arrived, with meat cooked medium-rare just as I’d requested, and it did not disappoint. Each bite of steak melted in my mouth and the salad was fresh and light – a perfect accompaniment. Others at my table were equally pleased with their selections – we sampled everything from the Wild Salmon & Beet Salad to the GVH Slider Trio.

Unfortunately, I was too full for dessert, but next time I’ll have to try the Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding. I have a feeling it might be decadent.

For a complete listing of the G. V. Hurley’s sample menu items, click here. Or better yet, visit them yourself! G.V. Hurley’s is located at 2718 J Street here in Sacramento.

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6 Comments so far ↓

Thanks for the great review, that sounds great. We will have to try it.

ron l. | Jun 7, 2008 at 11:47 am

My recommendation is not to try it. My wife and I decided to try it on one of our rare “date nights” we could get due to baby sitter shortages. I am a southern boy myself from Southern Virginia, so I am very familiar with the southern faire from okra to fried pickled pigs feet. Been there – done that. Anyway, we decided to try the new GV Hurleys. Big mistake. The service was slow. We ordered our drinks…waited 15 minutes and eventually got served. I ordered a Grey Goose Martini straight up with olive. Easy right?? What I got was a citron vodka thingy that by the time arrived at my table was not as cold as a martini should be. Oh, and they forgot the olives.
Due to the wait, our food arrived about 3 seconds after our drinks arrived. I ordered the tuna poki and she ordered the pulled pork. The poki tasted like it has seen better days, and the pulled pork was decent, but needed to be pulled a wee bit more (it was too chunky) to be the true pulled pork that is prevelent in the South. We both also ordered the chicken chopped salad. BLAND. Nothing there really gave me a good “wow factor”. After our meal(?) we walked over to Centro and had outstanding service, and some appetizers and boogied on home. My advice for anyone wanting to try GVHurleys, stop in for a beer and leave it at that. At least they can not mess that up….or can they?

JD | Jun 27, 2008 at 8:02 am

I can officially say after giving this place 3 chances to improve. “Absolutely the worst food on MidTowns belt of new restaurants”. My first experience was shortly after their opening, a jam-packed Thursday night. We ordered the Sole and Chicken Marasala, We enjoyed drinks & the atmosphere for about 45mins before of food arrived and it was bad… so bad that my wife pushed her fish away after 3 bites. The waitress didn’t even comment about the untouched dish when she picked it up. Second try was with a group of friends on a Wednesday night. One of six in our group said they liked their food (Burger). Third try for a business dinner which was chosen by our customer who had never been and wanted to try it. We gently warned about the food but went anyway. Wednesday night, patio seating, good weather and the crowd was welcoming the summer air. Five of us ordered drinks and appetizers which is the side of the menu I will never stray from again here. Not surprising….but our food was bland and dry and just plain BAD.

I wish I could say it was just overcooked, but it wasn’t! The sad thing about the menu is that the dishes offered are very simple, common and generous in portion but the chef has managed to ruin them all. At $15-$18 a plate, there is no way midtown hangers will continue to return, at least for the food.

I strongly suggest these new owners make a drastic change in the kitchen before it’s too late. The common conversation about this place goes something like this; “Have you been to GV Hurleys? “Yeah, It’s a great place for drinks, but the food’s horrible!”
Am I wrong? Have you been to GV Hurleys?

Ami | Jul 7, 2008 at 2:33 pm

I’m so surprised to see these comments – I LOVED this place. I went for a 2pm lunch on a Saturday. The atmosphere was great – I felt like I was on vacation with the big open windows and hip yet quiet background music. But since atmosphere alone probably wouldn’t bring you back – the calamari definitely would! It was perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. You could enjoy it without the dipping sauce – but with the sauce it was like another dish all together. I loved it (and I am picky about calamari!) Also I tried the fries on my boyfriend’s plate and they were delicious – salty, crunchy on the outside and melted in your mouth. When I was trying to decide on wine, the waitress did not immediately suggest the most expensive glass (always a plus) – she really knew what she was taking about and was very attentive. I’m definitely going back and would highly recommend this place!

Larry | Aug 31, 2008 at 10:14 am

I wish I would have read these posts before going to the place. Had dinner there last night and from the appearance and the hotties roaming around it seemed like it might go well, I was wrong.

For dinner- appetizer of Calamari; undercooked. Beers were okay, can’t mess up bottled Heineken. Dinner – I had the special; Beef Stroganoff, my friend, the Chicken Marsala, not worth the $18 each. The chicken was dry and I only got 4 small pieces of beef. The server never brought us our bread and when I requested it she either forgot of completely disregarded my request and replied that it was still being baked; what kind of upper restaurant doesn’t have bread available, especially when the dinner crowd was low.

With the various options in Midtown, East Sac my dinner money will definitely go elsewhere. Not Worth It.

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SacFoodies is a blog that examines all things food-related, from local Sacramento events to restaurants worldwide to a long list of traditional and gourmet recipes. Authored by Sacramento communications professionals who are experts in food marketing — and who have a passion for food and drink– the blog covers all things culinary from several different perspectives.